By Jonathan Shorman, Cayli Yanagida
The Kansas City Star
OVERLAND PARK, Kan. 鈥� Doctors and nurses need to eat 鈥� even .
After an ambulance transported a patient to AdventHealth Shawnee Mission on Sunday night, the crew discovered an empty snack room. Day shift nurses, who had stayed over because others couldn鈥檛 travel in, apologized, explaining they didn鈥檛 have any food.
鈥淲hen the ambulance got back to our station, they talked to all my crew and they were like 鈥榳ell, that鈥檚 not OK. There are no restaurants open anywhere,鈥欌�� Overland Park Fire Department Capt. Stan McDonald said.
When OPFD crews from Station 41 and learned that the kitchen staff couldn't make it in to Shawnee Mission last night and the ER staff was held over to work, they raided their own pantry, cooked up meals and delivered them to the ER.
— Overland Park Fire Department (@OverlandParkFD)
The firefighters of Station 41, just east of the hospital on 75th Street , 鈥渞aided their own pantry鈥� 鈥� as the 鈥� to whip up a pancake breakfast with eggs and fruit for the emergency room staff.
Across the Kansas City metro, the critical institutions that keep the area running 鈥� hospitals, law enforcement agencies, fire departments and others 鈥� have literally weathered a storm that shut down schools, businesses and some government offices. Even a day after the snow stopped falling, temperatures remain well below freezing and road conditions remain spotty in some areas.
But these vital services can鈥檛 shut down. So how do they adapt when it鈥檚 dangerous for their employees to commute?
The answer is with preparation, beds, all-terrain vehicles and generosity.
鈥淔or our guys to recognize a need and be able to quickly find a solution, take care of it and pay it forward 鈥� it鈥檚 a testament to the crews we work with, day in and day out,鈥� McDonald said.
He acknowledged the situation was unusual since the ER staff are not typically those needing the help but said it was good to identify what his crew needed to do at that moment. He called it a 鈥渄ifferent way to help.鈥�
How hospitals prepared
Multiple hospitals in Kansas City put extensive plans in place last week as it became clear the winter storm . The University of Kansas Health System, Saint Luke鈥檚 and Children鈥檚 Mercy cleared the way for employees to stay overnight in an effort to avoid treacherous travel. Collectively, hundreds if not thousands of employees across the institutions effectively slept at work.
AdventHealth did its best to fully prepare, including having transportation set up for those who needed to come into work, said spokesperson Nicole Fowler. That included using personal vehicles but at one particularly severe part of the storm on Sunday, transportation services had to be suspended because of visibility and safety concerns.
In turn, this created a staffing shortage in the hospital鈥檚 nutrition department. Patient care and meals were prioritized over staff. While there was a surplus of food around the hospital, it wasn鈥檛 anything as substantial as what the firefighters delivered.
鈥淥ftentimes, during these storms, it鈥檚 easy to think you can take a snow day, or you can stay home 鈥� obviously, that doesn鈥檛 translate to health care,鈥� Fowler said. 鈥淭he community needs its EMS providers to deliver the care that they need when they need it. We just couldn鈥檛 take the day off.
鈥淲e are so grateful that in times like this, when stress levels are high or when we are uncertain if we are going to get home the next day, that we are able to provide that care to each other 鈥� not just direct patient care 鈥� but caring for our team members and caring for our community.鈥�
Chris Ruder, the University of Kansas Health System鈥檚 senior vice president and chief operating officer for the Kansas City division, said the health system has long had plans in place to respond to winter weather emergencies. Housing for staff, either before or after shifts, is a key piece.
Before the storm, plans identified locations within the health system鈥檚 campus with beds available. Employees 鈥� both medical and non-medical personnel 鈥� were able to reserve rooms for shifts when they knew they would want rest. Hundreds of employees stayed on campus over the course of the weekend.
鈥淗ousing accommodations are one thing we鈥檝e done for a long time,鈥� Ruder said.
In a statement, Children鈥檚 Mercy said it provided staff lodging, with 165 individuals reserving space. The hospital called that a 鈥渞ecord number for team members staying onsite during a severe weather event.鈥�
All Saint Luke鈥檚 hospitals also hosted staff overnight, said spokesperson Dan Cohen. While Cohen didn鈥檛 have exact numbers, food and 鈥渉ygiene needs鈥� were also offered to employees in addition to sleeping areas, Cohen wrote in an email.
鈥淟ike many other institutions, the dangerous road conditions made travel not possible for some,鈥� Cohen said. 鈥淗owever, our caregivers and staff are extremely dedicated to not only our patients but to their colleagues and others volunteered to come in and cover for those staff who couldn鈥檛 make it.鈥�
Others volunteered to drive employees to and from work, he added.
ATV rides
Some healthcare workers and first responders have gotten to work the past few days with the help of all-terrain vehicles. Midwest Krawlers, , activated its 鈥淪now Squad鈥� to provide rides to essential workers across the metro.
Upwards of 50 drivers have volunteered over the past few days, said Michael Finwick, the club鈥檚 community outreach coordinator. At times, 20 requests have come in every 15 minutes 鈥� all tracked by spreadsheet.
He wasn鈥檛 sure exactly how many rides the group had provided but placed the number at over 300 as of Monday afternoon.
鈥淚t鈥檚 been a phenomenal amount of requests that have come in,鈥� Finwick said.
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